Maryland Republican Candidate for Congress Ken Timmerman released a statement today regarding the murder of four U.S. diplomats in Libya:

 

 

 

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

RAPE AND MURDER OF U.S. AMBASSADOR SHOWS U.S. WEAKNESS;
REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE CALLS FOR MUSCULAR RESPONSE

“We must take concrete steps on the ground, using unilateral U.S. military and intelligence assets, to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice, one way or another.”

Kensington, MD – September 13, 2012 – Maryland Republican Congressional candidate Ken Timmerman, who has spent the past 30 years reporting from and about the Middle East, issued the following statement on the brutal murder of four U.S. diplomats in Libya:

“My heart goes out to the families of our diplomats who were so savagely murdered in Libya on Sept. 11.

“I got to know Ambassador Stephens more than a decade ago when he worked on the Iran Desk at the State Department, and appreciated his candor and devotion to our country.

“This crisis now spreading throughout the Middle East was sadly predictable. Just as the seizure of our diplomats in Tehran by Islamist fanatics in 1979, it was created not by any alleged “provocation,” but by the perceived sense of U.S. weakness.

“When the evil-doers believe that the United States will not react, will not fight back, they attack. This is not a mysterious concept.

“It’s time that we face reality: the so-called Arab Spring the United States aided and abetted has ushered in an Islamist Dark Age descending upon much of the Middle East that endangers Americans, endangers Christians and other religious minorities, and endangers Israel.

“It also directly threatens the authentic, pro-freedom forces in these countries that Ambassador Stephens and his colleagues tried bravely to nurture.

“This is not the time for pathetic hand-wringing and retreat. This is time for America to stand up.

“I believe we must take strong and unambiguous actions.

“On the diplomatic front, the Obama administration should suspend all aid to Libya until the government there brings ALL the perpetrators to justice and provides armed protection to our diplomatic facilities and personnel.

“We must demand similar protections from other governments in the region, and if they fail to provide adequate protections, we should suspend aid until they do.

“We must make sure the U.S. Marines guarding our embassies in the region carry live ammunition and have adequate body armor. According to military bloggers, U.S. Ambassador to Egypt Anne Patterson refused repeated requests from her Marines to carry live ammo. If true, she should be relieved of duty.

“We must also take concrete steps on the ground in Libya, using unilateral U.S. military and intelligence assets, to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice, one way or another.

“The evil ones must understand that they cannot torture or murder Americans with impunity.”